The NBA is reaching the mid-point of the regular season and there are still many questions to be answered. It’s also a time to look back at the surprises and disappointments, with a quick look at three storylines still to develop.

Three surprises

Golden State Warriors: Far more than just an offensive machine, the Warriors have taken to heart coach Mark Jackson’s demand for defensive accountability.

They still score in bunches thanks to Stephen Curry and David Lee but on nights when the offence isn’t clicking, they still have found ways to win during the first half of the season when they have perhaps been the league’s biggest surprise.

Klay Thompson is only in his second year but he’d have to get some consideration for the most improved player if balloting was done today.

The Warriors aren’t truly battled tested and a stretch run to the playoffs might be telling but they have far surpassed the expectations of outsiders.

Indiana Pacers: A classic case of a team that’s bigger than the sum of its parts through the first half of the season.

All they did was lose their presumptive best player in Danny Granger and watch centre Roy Hibbert go through a series of crises of confidence to remain near the top of the upper echelon in the Eastern Conference.

With all-star reserves to be announced later this week, there is sure to be a lot of support for Paul George, who has emerged as the team’s go-to guy, along with guard George Hill.

The Pacers got some much-needed hardcore experience in the playoffs last spring, if they can avoid any serious injuries in the second half of the season, their surprising run to a top four slot in the East should continue.

Los Angeles Clippers: They were good a year ago but heading into the second half of this season they are verging on great.

They had a showdown at home with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night with first place overall in the NBA at stake, continuing a meteoric rise from laughingstock to legitimate title contender.

And it doesn’t seem as if good health will be a huge issue in the final half of the regular season; the Clippers have developed one of the deepest benches in the league.

Yes, Chris Paul is the architect and he has to remain healthy for long-term success but the team that not too long ago was simply known for Blake Griffin’s highlight reel dunks and repeated concerns about the ability of head coach Vinny Del Negro to manage a roster or a game is now much more than that.

Three disappointments

Los Angeles Lakers: What a shambles.

Dwight Howard can’t figure out how to co-exist with Steve Nash and Nash hasn’t made it work smoothly with Kobe Bryant yet and the team’s second coach of the year, Mike D’Antoni, seems at a total loss with how to get this team to figure it out.

Pau Gasol’s out of the starting lineup and not at all happy with the demotion and the Lakers are as lost now as they were after an 0-8 preseason.

Of all the stories in the NBA so far this year, the collapse of the Lakers has to be the shocking.

Boston Celtics: If this was one last kick at the can with this group of grizzled veterans, it’s not working out nearly as well as the Celtics had hoped.

They’ve had stretches of dreadful play, so much so that coach Doc Rivers erupted this week and vowed significant change if certain un-named players didn’t shape up.

With the expectation that they’d be able to challenge the top teams not being met, general manager Danny Ainge may be looking for some blockbuster deal in the next few weeks to juice the team going into the second half of the season.

Dallas Mavericks: It’s gotten so bad in Dallas over the last few weeks that owner Mark Cuban publicly vowed to open the vault if he has to in order to shake up the roster.

Dallas will have to make a serious second-half run just to sneak into the playoffs thanks to the disappointment of the first half of the year; the team is old and without much promise for the future right now.

Three things to watch for

Trade deadline: Feb. 21 is the big day and there will be loads of stories — some even true — between now and then.

With Memphis dumping enough salary to get under the tax level in a trade with Cleveland on Tuesday, it would appear Rudy Gay might not be on the move so there’s one prominent name off the list.

But watch the stumbling and bumbling Lakers, Dallas wants to do something and the Miami Heat, dead last in the NBA in rebounding, might want to add bulk.

Could be a busy few weeks.

Bulls on the loose: Chicago has more than tread water so far this season on the strength of some outstanding defence and injured point guard Derrick Rose is scheduled to start practising this week.

If he comes back healthy and meshes well in the final three months of the season, the Bulls become an even more legitimate Eastern Conference threat.

If there’s one point that’s been made already this season it’s that some general managers’ patience is wearing thin and as teams fall further out of playoff contention, there may be more coaching casualties in the second half.

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